PRODUCTION AND COLLECTION OF SEED OYSTERS 
219 
trate deeper than 6 inches from the surface and that the central portion of the crate 
had little value as a collector. This, however, can be easily improved by changing 
either the size or the shape of the crate. A more detailed analysis of the distribution 
of spat in the crate is given by Prytherch on pages 255 and 256. 
Table 6. — Distribution of spat within the crate 1 
1 The figures indicate the average number of spat per square inch of both shell surfaces. (For meaning of letters A, B, and C 
and levels I to IV, see fig. 13.) * 
In order to determine the number of spat caught in the crates, they were emptied 
the shells well mixed, and a number of them were taken at random and thrown into 
Figure 14.— Diagram showing the method of determination of the distribution of spat within 
the crate. A, Top view; B, side view 
a 2-quart container. Then the number of spat on all the shells of the sample was 
counted. The results of the counts are presented in Table 7. 
Table 7. — Total and average numbers of spat caught in the crates 
Location 
Number 
of crates 
Total spat 
in crates 
Average number of 
spat— 
Per crate 
Per bushel 
24 
6 
9 
436, 500 
230, 300 
248, 100 
18, 188 
38, 383 
27, 567 
9, 094 
19, 191 
13, 784 
39 
914, 900 
23, 459 
11,729 
All together in 39 crates there were obtained in round numbers 915,000 seed 
oysters. On the average there were 23,459 seed oysters per crate, or 1 1,729 per bushel. 
Inasmuch as the crates were set in different localities and at different depths, and 
as some of them were filled with oyster while others were filled with scallop shells, it 
is of interest to analyze the results of the experiment in a more detailed manner. 
119414—30 4 
